Intel recently announced that it will be disabling DirectX 12 (DX12) API support for its 4th generation Core CPUs, otherwise known as Haswell. The chipmaker says that its made the decision to do so after it discovered a potential security issue that affects the entire lineup.
Intel will begin the wind-up with graphics drivers 15.40.44.5107 and the update will affect all 4th generation CPUs. On that note, the deactivation also envelops CPUs launched under the Devil’s Canyon name, including the Core i7-4790K and Core i5-4690K.
To be clear, the deactivation only affects the integrated GPUs of the 4th generation CPUs, so if you’re using external GPU (read: graphics card) already, then this is deactivation is pretty much a non-issue. That said, the integrated GPUs that will be deactivated are the Intel Iris Pro graphics 5200, Iris Graphics 5100, HD Graphics 5000, 4600, 4400, and 4200, plus the iGPUs within Pentium and Celeron CPUs.
Haswell launched more than eight years ago, back in 2013, with Intel launching a refresh of the lineup a year later as Devil’s Canyon. Much like its predecessor, Ivy Bridge, the lineup was based on the larger and archaic 22nm process node. To that end, Intel still continues to provide support to the CPUs, but mostly in a “Legacy Mode” capacity.
(Source: Intel, Hot Hardware, Techspot)
